With the current selection of cutting insert geometries, it is necessary, when the feed rate is significantly altered, to change the cutting insert to one having the desired geometry most effective for that feed rate. This process not only requires changing cutting inserts to satisfy the cutting parameters, but also necessitates maintaining an inventory of various cutting inserts such that the desired insert geometry is available when needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,591 to Katbi et al. teaches a cutting insert having a central plateau with walls diverging from the insert cutting edge as the plateau extends away from a corner. A chip deceleration pad has associated with it a wall which is generally parallel along the cutting edge. While this arrangement may provide chip control during machining in which the workpiece engages only the corner region of the insert, many machining operations involve a feed rate which engage the insert beyond the corner region. Under these circumstances, the chip deceleration pad which is essentially parallel to the cutting edge provides limited chip control.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a cutting insert that may effectively be utilized over a wide range of feed rates and, through this versatility, reduce the frequency of changing inserts and reduce the need for a large variety of different insert geometries.